New
by NeotericSchism
Summary: The newest acquisition of Egalitan University: Roy Mustang. Summer, 2007, Schismverse


"I don't remember you having so... little,"

"A lot of it is still at D-... still at the house. I didn't want to bring it."

Roy Mustang let out a pinched sigh, stuffing his hands in to the pockets of his jeans as he rocked back lightly on his feet. Next to him, his diminutive friend Kain smiled at him, peering from behind his large round glasses. The dorm room they were standing in was small- two beds, two desks, two book shelves and two closets, all within fairly close proximity to each other. To a thirty-something man who'd lived most of his life alone in apartment complex not three blocks from the very home he grew up in as an only child, it was damn near claustrophobic. The one saving grace was that while his supposed roommate- who wasn't present- had packed in mass amounts of personal items over his past several years at the college, Roy had opted the minimalist's way of doing things and had only brought up two bags and an over-sized suitcase.

"Well, if you need anything else we could always use my truck on the weekend and-"

"No," Roy interjected, shaking his head slowly. Kain's smile flickered, then vanished completely, a soft 'oh' uttering from his lips. It was Roy's turn to smile then, though this time it was in reassurance that his friend hadn't done anything wrong. "He's not ready to see me again. Not yet, at least."

"Alright. Hey, I should show you the campus, shouldn't I? It's really disorienting if you've never been here before."

"Sounds good."

It was a short walk from the third floor dorm to the open quad below. The rolling hills of outer Central spread the campus of Egalitan University before them, buildings short and tall speckling the green landscape. Spring was heavy upon them, the sweet smell of early blooming flowers lifting on a warm breeze, and all around students passed, chatting in groups or running alone to get from one place to another in a hurry.

The two of them wandered, seemingly aimless, but with Kain stopping on occasion to explain what a certain building was, what it housed, and the best way to get to and from there should the need arise. Roy was only half attentive, his thoughts elsewhere as they often were as of late.

The tour took about a half an hour, a stomach growl indicating that food needed to be acquired shortly. The obvious choice was the campus cafeteria, but the look of distaste on Roy's face prompted Kain to make the suggestion of a fairly well-known deli that was just outside the main road in the small College Village connected to them.

As with the majority of the area, it didn't take long to reach on foot, and soon they were in line with other students to order their food. They engaged in idle chit-chat about various things until the order was finally handed to them, a plastic bag holding two Styrofoam containers, the savory smell of their lunch wafting from inside.

Upon leaving, they passed by a group of students lounging on the deck area of the deli, taking up two of the small picnic tables as well as a railing with their numbers. Among them were two that caught Roy's eye almost instantly, and for completely different reasons on either side.

One was a girl, sporting a shade of red locks that could only be natural by the sheen of it, her hair hanging loose around her shoulders and her blue green eyes shining brightly in humor as she laughed at some joke told by her friends. She was a tiny thing, couldn't have been more than five and a half feet, if even that, and had a slightly rounded face to match the almost child-like body she had. Only one thing gave away her status as an adult, though Roy would be loathe to admit that he had even noticed it at all.

The other individual he took note of seemed to have a permanent spot directly at the redhead's shoulder, his height allowing him to tower over her, but in a stance and air that seemed protective, like that of an ever-present blond-haired sentinel that refused to leave her even for a second. That in itself wouldn't have been so odd - if they were boyfriend and girlfriend, he was obviously the type to keep very close tabs on the girl - had it not been for the presence of a very large, bladed yellow tail, and horns upon his head.

_A chimera? _Roy wondered to himself, unable to tear his eyes away long enough to realize that he was essentially staring. _I've only read about them, though I heard they're far more prominent in Central City before coming. I just never thought I'd see one so soon. Or... one that looks so... normal._

Indeed, the chimera-student had very little in the way of noticeably changed features aside from the tail, horns, large fuzzy ears, and somehow altered legs and feet that were seen, bare, beneath long pants. Otherwise his face, hands, and torso were just as human as those around him. Even more strange to him was the fact that the redhead, or anyone in the group for that matter, seemed to care very little for his appearance and treated him just the same as any of their other friends.

Hailing from a town much further out East that was much more apt to hurl an alchemically altered human into jail on false charges of bogus crimes, the entire scene was something out of a fiction work for Roy. He knew it wasn't impossible, that Central City was a far, far cry from his home, but he couldn't help feeling a bit strange about the whole damn thing.

Kain finally noticed Roy's deviated attention once he failed to get even a grunt of response to his latest question and wound up snapping his fingers in front of his older friend's face. A jerk of his head and a 'huwah?' later, he found them standing on the sidewalk just past the deli, both of their gazes now back on the group that hadn't so much as acknowledged anything outside their own circle for the time being.

"...If you're looking at the redhead, it's probably best if you forget about it," Kain said.

He wasn't, really. Not as much he was the blond, that was. Still, curiosity piqued, he had to ask, "Why?"

"See the guy next to her?" Kain inquired, eliciting a nod. "That's her older brother."

"Brother?" Roy echoed, a note of disbelief in his voice. "They don't look anything alike." _And that's ignoring the fact that he's obviously got a few extra pieces on him._

"Yup. They are. Ilyana and Hexan Rydel. I'm not much for rumors, but I know a few of their friends. Word around is that he's severely overprotective of her, and that there's some story behind it, but no one knows what. So, best bet? Don't even think about it. If he's that protective of her in everyday life, I don't even want to think of what it would be like to try and date her."

"Yeah..." Roy muttered, his gaze already having wandered back to the brother in question. A half hearted shrug brought his shoulders up. "I'm just the new guy. Trying to hook up with someone on my first day? That's just dumb."

_And besides that...she's not the one who interests me..._


End file.
